Campaign Event Awards 2018: Creative Event of the Year

WINNER

Converse ‘One Star Hotel’

XYZ and Design

The "Converse One-Star Hotel" was staged in Shoreditch during schools’ half-term, and coinciding with London Fashion Week. It sought to showcase the One Star sneaker as a street style icon and cement Converse as the brand of the anti-hero, ambushing social feeds ahead of both LFW and NBA All-Star Weekend.

The hotel spanned five floors, each one inspired by the footwear, with areas telling authentic stories and prompting interaction. The Grape room, for example, was concrete to represent the harsh landscape of London's skate scene, while the Cotton Candy was an immersive room of scent, taste and touch – with a centrepiece of a revolving bed so consumers could trial the shoes and take a picture using the ceiling mirror.

The corridors were inspired by the film The Shining, with additional fake doors to give the appearance of lots of rooms. Guests were also welcome to 'steal' branded 'takeaways', such as ashtrays, shampoos, slippers and bathrobes.

The three-day event also included fashion shows, community workshops and live music performances. All of this encouraged the participants to get involved and make their own anti-hero statements. The campaign exceeded expectations in terms of deliverables and attitudes to the Converse brand.

Highly Commended: Ford ‘Go Faster’ – Imagination

Ford wanted to create an emotional appeal among its target audience and infuse the brand with a fun and passionate personality. It created an "experiential strategic platform", one element of which was Go Faster – an Ocean’s Eleven-style action movie where the participant was the ‘getaway driver’.

The activation was open to the general public across cities including London, Paris and Madrid, from October to December 2017. Participants were taken behind the scenes of a real working Hollywood movie set where they learned how to be a stunt driver and actor. The event combined elements of immersive theatre and thrilling rides, focused not just on cars but on the passions of the target audience and brand. The experience included in-character briefings, stunt driving and outdoor filming.